To Dawn and clay or not to Dawn and clay

[Boongie]

Hi all:

I`ve decide to go Zaino on the new silver metallic clearcoat car. Problem is, I am uncertain whether or not to first use Dawn or clay or both before using Z7 wash on a new car. The threads on the forum indicate conflicting views on this point. Any suggestions?

[Brad B]

What conflict? Sal, the manufacturer, recommends it!



If you have other wax* on the car you should absolutely get everything off. Dawn it. And by all means clay will give your car a beautiful smooth finish to start with. I just did this today, in fact. Do it!



*even new cars can have stuff on them you don`t know about.



http://fototime.com/992D69A53DA4681/standard.jpg

[mrdetailer]

Regardless of your products, if you are going to do an extensive cleanup and then apply any wax, you should dawn and clay first. It will pull up pollutants, leave the finish mirror smooth, and keep grit from being sealed in.

[Boongie]

Actually, Brad, I spoke with Sal and I asked him about using Dawn and clay and he recommended against it. He told me to go right to the Zaino wash followed by Z2 and Zfx.

[imported_Intermezzo]

Boongie,



That`s strange... He always told me (like in his website) to start off with a Dawn wash, follow that with clay & follow that up with a Z-7 wash. In fact, I just talked about this with him last Fri. I wanted to know if a Dawn wash was necessary after claying (because a lot of distributors seemed to be recommending that) and his response was no. It is only necessary as the very first wash.. Hmm......

[ExplorerXLT95]

You guys keep talking about Dawn....What about something like Eimann Fabrik Powerwash +??? Won`t that have the same effect?? I want to do an extensive exterior clean-up, but I was under the impression that Powerwash+ is the best for just washing......Help me out a little....

[imported_BretFraz]

The reason everyone talks about Dawn is that it is a high alkaline detergent that will strip off any old wax or sealant prior to claying and polishing.



Frankly any alkaline detergent with a high pH value will do the same thing. We all use Dawn because its a known product and is easy to find at retail.

[ExplorerXLT95]

In that case, does anybody know if Eimann Fabrik Powerwash+ is an "alkaline detergent with a high pH value "???

[imported_Intermezzo]

Here`s how CMA describes EFHI:



"By itself, it has a mild alkaline pH of 8.5. When mixed with water, it yields a perfect pH-neutral rating of 7. It absolutely will not remove protective wax, acrylic or polymer surface protectants."

[ExplorerXLT95]

So doing a Dawn-over then using the Eimann Fabrik Powerwash+ would be a good idea???? Or would the Dawn-over basically take place of the washing step??